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Westchester15 showed the value of playing together for three years. Photo, Scott Zeidman.
Dateline Tucson – Westside Baseball's Westchester Babe Ruth 15-and-under All-Star team punched its ticket to the Babe Ruth 13-15-Year-Old World Series yesterday by defeating the Northern California champions from Tri-Valley Babe Ruth, 8-7, in the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament.
The Babe Ruth World Series tournament will be Aug. 17-24 in Loudoun County, VA.
Westchester and Tri-Valley are familiar opponents. As 13-year-olds in 2011, Tri-Valley beat Westchester in the Pacific Southwest Regional on their way to winning the Babe Ruth World Series. Last year as 14-year-olds, Westchester bested Tri-Valley during its World Series run that resulted in a third place finish.
This year’s matchup contained all of the expected drama of a final rubber match. Extra innings were required to settle the score.
Westchester Manager John Lopatto sent Uly Perez to the mound for Westchester. Tri-Valley jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning – taking advantage of three walks. Westchester bullpen ace Reggie Castro relieved Perez in the second inning. Tri-Valley added two runs in the top of the second to run the score to 3-0.
Westchester answered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Carlos Jacobo reached on a fielding error followed by consecutive singles from Grant Craddolph and Christian Amador to load the bases. Jacobo and Craddolph took advantage of a couple of Tri-Valley miscues, scoring on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively.
Tri-Valley scored again in the top of the fifth inning on two doubles to make the score 4-2. Westchester battled back in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game. Amador collected his second hit and Castro drew a walk to set the table for the hot hitting Matthew Kanfer.
Kanfer sent a ground ball single up the middle to score Amador. Castro was able to score on another Tri-Valley wild pitch to tie the game at 4-4.
Showing the heart of a champion, Tri-Valley stormed back into the lead by scoring three in the top of the sixth inning on a walk and four hits. Westchester called on staff ace Jay Sterner to bail them out of the sixth trailing by three runs.
Lawrence (LJ) Gilliam started the rally for Westchester in the bottom of the sixth with a double to right field. AJ Inatsugu laid down a perfect bunt for a base hit down the third base line. Gilliam was able to score on the play as the throw from the third baseman to first base sailed into the first base dugout. Jacobo singled up the middle to score Inatsugu to bring Westchester to within one. Craddolph stepped to plate and sent a towering fly ball double to the deep center field to score Jacobo and tie the game. Tri-Valley stiffened defensively to thwart the rally, leaving the game tied at 7-7 entering the seventh inning.
Sterner stayed on the mound for Westchester and pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings. In the top of the eighth inning, Jacobo sent a screaming ground ball to shortstop to reach first base. Amador hit a come-backer to the pitcher, leaving Jacobo stranded in a pickle between second and third base. Amador was able to move to second base on the play as Jacobo was retired in the rundown. With two outs, Perez delivered a walkoff ground ball up the middle to score Amador and win the game for Westchester.
With Amador sliding home, the Westchester side spilled over the dugout fence and mobbed Perez at the pitcher’s mound. During post-game ceremonies, Westchester’s Kanfer and Sterner were named to the All-Tournament team. Sterner was named tournament MVP.
The Westchester 15-and-under team hails from several neighborhoods in west Los Angeles County, including Westchester, Playa del Rey, Culver City, Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park, Ladera Heights, West Athens, Inglewood and Santa Monica. The roster for the tournament team includes: Cristian Amador, Reggie Castro, Isaiah Cepeda, Anthony Chavez, Grant Craddolph, Lawrence (LJ) Gilliam, Nick Goff, AJ Inatsugu, Carlos Jacobo, Matthew Kanfer, Cameren Landreth, Mario Morales, Uly Perez, Jay Sterner, and Jeremiah Thomure. Managed by John Lopatto, the team is coached by Alex Galaviz and Barry Craddolph.
Mr. Gilliam may be contacted at lgrhythm@gmail.com
